Hey, no need to have an attitude. The source of the discrepancy turns out to be that we define "middle class" differently, which was one of my leading suspicion

Hey, no need to have an attitude. The source of the discrepancy turns out to be that we define "middle class" differently, which was one of my leading suspicions. Not sure what country your experiences are based on, but I consider American middle class to usually be salaried people who are homeowners (maybe with mortgage, fair enough), so several of the points you raised don't apply. That said, of course, it's a pretty fuzzy category. Please try to behave nicely on HN. There is no need to insult others here (for instance, by saying that they don't get something that is "obvious").